Intech Investment Management LLC Sells 4,256 Shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Intech Investment Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 26.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 11,915 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 4,256 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $5,048,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in DE. Pineridge Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 60.5% during the fourth quarter. Pineridge Advisors LLC now owns 69 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Modus Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Deere & Company during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. YANKCOM Partnership bought a new position in shares of Deere & Company during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Deere & Company in the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC raised its holdings in Deere & Company by 155.8% in the third quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 110 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Citigroup increased their price objective on Deere & Company from $430.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Deere & Company from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Deere & Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $510.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Friday, December 6th. Argus set a $510.00 price objective on Deere & Company in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Baird R W downgraded Deere & Company from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $460.00.

Deere & Company Trading Down 0.2 %

Deere & Company stock opened at $481.21 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 2.22 and a quick ratio of 1.98. Deere & Company has a one year low of $340.20 and a one year high of $515.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $130.61 billion, a PE ratio of 21.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.01. The business’s fifty day moving average is $469.24 and its 200 day moving average is $435.01.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The industrial products company reported $3.19 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.14 by $0.05. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 27.31% and a net margin of 12.94%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Deere & Company will post 19.32 EPS for the current year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 8th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $1.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.35%. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.72%.

Insider Activity at Deere & Company

In other Deere & Company news, insider Rajesh Kalathur sold 24,580 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.61, for a total value of $12,304,993.80. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 74,878 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,484,675.58. This trade represents a 24.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Deere & Company Company Profile

Deere & Co engages in the manufacture and distribution of equipment used in agriculture, construction, forestry, and turf care. It operates through the following segments: Agriculture and Turf, Construction and Forestry, and Financial Services. The Agriculture and Turf segment focuses on the distribution and manufacture of a full line of agriculture and turf equipment and related service parts.